“It’s kind of up in the air still. A lot of it will depend on how he’s going out there,” coach Fred Hoiberg said. “We’re not going to overdo it with him tonight, just for the fact he’s only really had three live practices and one 10-minute stretch in a (preseason) game. We’ll be a little careful with Derrick. But he’s excited. A lot of guys have adrenalin going through their bodies. It’s a great opportunity to play a great team.”

Here’s what Hoiberg does know---that the Bulls need to ultimately be better than the Cavaliers to exit the East, that LeBron James will hit tough shots no matter who’s guarding him and that nothing is definitively decided in the season opener except fanfare.

“Obviously, they’re the team you gotta get through because they’re the reigning champs in this conference,” Hoiberg said. “There are so many challenges to get by that. To see what (James) did with Kevin Love and Kyrie Irving out of the lineup and (Anderson) Varejao (out last season) and now they’ve added pieces so when (Iman) Shumpert and Kyrie come back, it’s a heckuva task.

“You try to get your guys ready to play confident basketball. That’s what we’ve tried to do leading into this first game. Obviously throughout this season, a lot of things will transpire by the time the playoffs roll around. So I don’t think you look at that from Day One as the pressure of you have to get by this team because there are so many variables that can happen over the course of the season.”

Butler will draw the bulk of the defensive assignment on James, although Snell will take turns as well.

“If you do your job and make them take tough, contested shots, that can’t deflate you,” Hoiberg said. “You have to stick to it and continue to do that. And hopefully your odds will catch up in your favor. If you make them take tough shots, hopefully twos, you should be in pretty good shape.”